ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. - "Three years ago, we embarked on a journey to move recycling operations from the mule barn to the mansion," said Jim Webb, director of community and family activities, as he officially opened the new offices for the depot's recycling program on June 6.
The new building will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified, meaning it was built to strict environmental standards. Webb said he believes the building will attain a silver rating, the second of four possible levels, once LEED inspectors finalize their results in two months.
Some of the environmentally friendly features that will assist in LEED certification are:
Aca,!Ac Two spaces for electric cars with outlets for recharging
Aca,!Ac A white parking lot to reflect light and heat
Aca,!Ac Skylights and windows that let in plenty of light, but are coated and double paned to reduce the amount of heat entering the building
Aca,!Ac Glass walls in two offices to let in natural light
Aca,!Ac Bamboo flooring
Aca,!Ac Wood from a controlled forest
Aca,!Ac Recycled carpet
Aca,!Ac Recycled content in all furniture
Aca,!Ac Cork flooring in the conference room
Aca,!Ac Wallpaper with recycled content
Aca,!Ac Low volatile organic compound paint
Aca,!Ac Energy-efficient lighting
Aca,!Ac Low flow toilets
"This building and all the concepts in it are a dream that we started a long time ago," said Thelma McCullough, who retired from the depot in 2009 after serving as the head of recycling for 15 years. McCullough was on hand for the ribbon cutting to see her dream come to fruition.
LaNoah Ealy, business manager for the Recycling Center, called the building the highlight of the recycling program's success.
The program, which began in 1982, has gone from bringing in $1,000 in the first years to $8 million in recent years.
Ealy and the other workers in the recycling center will move out of the old recycling center in the next few weeks. Once everything is taken out of the mule barn, it is slated for demolition.
Next door to the new office is another recent upgrade for the recycling program. A building constructed in July 2009 houses the program's $350,000 shredder. With this machine, the material handlers in the recycling program can shred and bundle in a few hours an amount of paper that would have taken days on their old equipment.
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